This individual is not suitable for public service. If you break the law to silence critics, you belong in jail, not public office.

So, what say you readers? Take a look at the video. Let us know what should be done with Paulette Marshall Chaffee.

I’m sure her husband, Mayor Doug Chaffee, who is currently running for Orange County Supervisor and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his campaign, will have something to say.

UPDATE FROM VERN, 7pm

I swung by Tony Bushala’s place this afternoon for totally unrelated reasons, not knowing that these stolen signs (two of them, two incidents caught on security cams) were HIS signs stolen by Paulette from HIS property. They were signs he had spent money creating and put all over town, and they have been DISAPPEARING all over town, so it’s fair to guess Paulette has stolen many of them. And why? Well, they are signs that Paulette wouldn’t like, because they are trademark Bushala anti-carpetbagger signs, such as this one, which is in the exact place replacing one of the ones Paulette stole:

Now what makes this whole thing so amazing, is, well, a lot of things. This lady caught stealing signs that she doesn’t like is 1. probably close to 70 years old; 2. a lawyer; 3. an “officer of the court”; 4. THE MAYOR’S WIFE; 5. the wife of a man running for OC Supervisor, who attacked his Democratic rival Joe Kerr for carpetbagging while his wife was setting up to do the same thing. The woman certainly knew she was breaking the law; she just feels entitled to do that. I went with Tony to the Fullerton Police Department this afternoon where he filed a report with Officer Casares:

Really, this whole episode SHOULD make Paulette’s political aspirations as TOAST as Phil Bacerra’s! Look, media! Look, Register! The Mayor’s wife, an elderly LAWYER running as a carpetbagger for Council, CAUGHT ON FILM STEALING SIGNS letting people know about that! How will she wriggle out of this?

Another tantalizing question – when does she move back shamefacedly shamelessly to the Chaffee Mansion?

UPDATE 2, Oct. 9

It “comes around.” From our Fullerton correspondent Matt Leslie we learn that Paulette has now left the Council race – read his excellent and merciless write-up here. Check out her pathetic withdrawal statement which complains about mean locals picking on her for her age and race, while saying not a word about her sign thievery:

You think she used the word “community” enough times?

As Matt put it (along with other nice insights) – “She still seems completely unaware of, perhaps even incapable of understanding, how grossly offensive many voters found her expedient move from an expensive neighborhood up in the hills into a heavily Latino and less affluent district expressly for the purpose of running for office there.” Read more…

What makes this whole thing so amazing, is, well, a lot of things. This lady caught stealing signs that she doesn’t like is 1. probably close to 70 years old; 2. a lawyer; 3. an “officer of the court”; 4. THE MAYOR’S WIFE; 5. the wife of a man running for OC Supervisor, who attacked his Democratic rival Joe Kerr for carpetbagging while his wife was setting up to do the same thing. The woman certainly knew she was breaking the law; she just feels entitled to do that.

What I don’t know from it is whether the place where it was planted looked to be private as opposed to public property. We’re told that it’s not only private, but specifically Tony’s: I presume that the police will verify that. It would still have been wrong if she wrongly thought it was obn public property, but not as heinous. Can someone post a picture of where the sign (and I’m guessing its clone is again), so that we can see what it looked like from her perspective driving down the street?

She may or may not be committing residency fraud — but she’s definitely carpetbagging.

My recollection (perhaps faulty, but that’s what I got, and it can stand its own against mere bluster) from previous discussions about campaign signs illegally posted on public property is that some argued with success that they can be removed without waiting for the city’s or county’s code enforcement to show up … eventually. I believe that this was in reference to some vile anonymous attack signs against Council candidates that were eventually (and I think definitively) traced to Anila Ali. (It could have been more than one instance.)

This matters first in terms of legality: if (despite your assertion) this is public land, and the law allows it, then she would have been entitled to do it. You state that it’s Tony’s property. Well, that may be … or it could be that ownership is disputed … or it could be (how do I put this delicately?) that trusting your assertion would be a mistake. It doesn’t matter, because your argument is clearly STRONGER with a little more proof, and that’s what I’m suggesting you provide. Taking offense at that just makes you look defensive — your crowd could DEFINITELY benefit from neutral outside perspectives on what you assert as fact, which is all I’m suggesting. A freaking photo is step one.

Second, it’s important in terms of culpability. If Chaffee had reasonable basis to believe that she could legally remove the sign because it’s on public land, then she may have violated an ordinance but not with the state of mind that would likely lead to s conviction for “theft” … even if she weren’t married to the FPD-loving Mayor. So calling her a “thief” would be hyperbole that would be very popular within your in-group but would strike outsiders as unfair or even repellent.

To me, the story here is that Chaffee wants to hide the fact that she moved into a minority-dominated district — carpetbagged NOT for any honorable reason but for her own personal power and glory — and that she doesn’t want voters to know it. Even if she was ENTITLED to remove the sign, it’s still piss-poor form to do so. You’re choosing to fight the battle that is incidental and that you might well lose, rather than the more important one — that she wants to censor the truth as to what she did — that you would clearly win.

So: still theft? I don’t know and I doubt it would be charged even if it were, but I’ll leave that to the cops and to your lawyers. Still rotten? Yes — and EVEN MORE SO IF SHE WOULD TRESPASS ONTO SOMEONE ELSE’S LAND TO CENSOR THEM.

So I’ll ask again: anyone have a picture so we can judge how likely if is that she was *INTENTIONALLY* TRESPASSING ON SOMEONE’S PROPERTY TO CENSOR THEIR LEGITIMATE CRITICISM OF HER?

Most of those defenses against sign-stealing really WOULD get you arrested or sued. Ironically, the most intricate one at the end is probably one of the more legal ones, as it (probably) doesn’t constitute assault, let alone battery.

I’m glad the field is free for Ybarra vs. Zahra. We were gonna interview them.

Her statement is pretty pathetic. It’s all about how mean people used ageism and race against her. Nothing about sign stealing or dubious residency. Plus she used the word “community” 8 times in 8 sentences.

She must really read MY little offhand blog comments closely. Or is she talking about FFFF comments?

Ryan Cantor

Posted October 9, 2018 at 8:01 AM

I don’t recall reading anything remotely resembling racism or ageism.

That seems bizarre.

Greg Diamond

Posted October 9, 2018 at 7:27 PM

If you consider the belief that the sole minority-majority district in the gerrymandered city would ideally be representing minority interests to be “racist,” then I’ve said that here and elsewhere and I’ll happily own it. I don’t consider it racism, though; I consider it “un-racism,” or maybe “race-unism.”

So now we’ve got as our leading candidates an Arab-American Democrat, a Latino-American Republican, and an African-American … um, independent? — running. None of them represent the principle I propose well, but none of them would be as clearly violative of it as would the newly arrived Ms. Chaffee.

I don’t think that I ever mentioned her age as disqualifying, nor do I think it is. As Vern said, in the Supe’s race Doug Chaffee’s likely greater proximity to his demise than Tim Shaw has is the best thing he has going for him.

David Zenger

Posted October 9, 2018 at 8:09 AM

Just read Matt’s write up, which was very good and succinct.

It takes a hell of a lot of gall for her to paint herself a victim of some made up offenses. The attitude is revealing and it isn’t pretty.

Note .. I updated Ryan’s story a second time, with bits of Matt’s as well as Paulette’s pathetic “swan song.”

Greg Diamond

Posted October 9, 2018 at 7:18 PM

I’d also consider Vicki Calhoun a viable candidate. As a highly socially conservative African American woman, she not only probably takes equally from both of them, but now becomes the only viable (indeed, even generally identifiable by name) woman running. You should interview her too.

I just left a comment on this item at FFFF, where I suggest that Tony may have a lawsuit here — but he might not want to bring it — and so might Paulette. Seeing the second video posted on the site raised my eyebrows. Sometimes taking property is not a crime — and therefore does not make one a thief. I’m not going to copy it here for now, but maybe later if there’s interest.

The story makes the leap from our world to the big world, and the larger public consciousness:

As FOX 11 notes, Paulette has ONLY “suspended” her campaign – her name is still on the ballot (which can’t be helped), her campaign website is still up (which can), and her signs are still all over the fucking district. COME ON PAULETTE – you know how to take down signs really good – you have all the tools and everything!

I don’t know if you can take down her signs. I thought that one could do so with abandoned property, but the mavens on FFFF say otherwise. Have Bushala figure it out. I do think that if she gets the most votes regardless of the suspension of her campaign and reference to “remaining candidates,” she can and will still take office. But I also don’t think that she could legally do more than suspend it.

Do you see this so-called “suspension” as “I’m dropping out?” Or maybe it’s “I’m going incommunicado until the election which I’m still planning on winning.”

Ryan Cantor

Posted October 11, 2018 at 3:28 PM

Until she steps up to a microphone, accepts culpability, and declares she will not accept an office should she win the election, she’s in the race.

Ditto for Doug. To date, they haven’t acknowledged anything has happened.

David Zenger

Posted October 11, 2018 at 4:20 PM

She could at least posting her pitiful “suspension” on her website. This thing strikes me as highly disingenuous.

Greg Diamond

Posted October 12, 2018 at 12:11 AM

It strikes me that with so many “Chaffee (for Supervisor)” signs around, she is essentially the beneficiary of her opponent’s signs. So yes, she is absolutely still a danger to win.

To illustrate the problem, is someone were to now put up signs all over Fullerton saying “Chaffee Stole Signs Slamming Carpetbagging” — that would by a similar logic be technically true. It would only clearly apply to DOUG Chaffey (and thus be false) if she were to unequivocally state that she will NOT take her seat if elected and, as you say, turn her website from a campaign site into a “don’t vote for me” site, ideally with an endorsement of someone else (as that would be incompatible with voting for her).

As it stands, Doug would be lucky if some Tim Shaw supporter doesn’t due exactly that. He should urge his wife to preempt this sort of response — or put up signs saying “Vote for DOUG Chaffee NOT for PAULETTE Chaffee.” I doubt we’ll see those either.

That is my ex sister-in-law in the video. I was married to Rick Chaffee, Doug Chaffee’s brother, for 20 years. Also, that is the 1997 JEEP Cherokee that our mother-in-law owned in the video. I am surprised they still have it. And I am not surprised at Paulette’s actions…..